Year of the Spark: February 21
by Sparky Army
Summary: A twist on The Long Goodbye. What if John had gotton away from Teyla and didn't stun Elizabeth? Another day in the Year of the Spark!


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December__ 31, 2008. Though the Powers that__ Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree. _

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some --and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

**A/N (saphiretwin369): **This takes place right after Rodney overrides the lockdown and Caldwell orders Teyla not to fire. Some of the events are also in reverse order. You should see the episode before you read this, but I'm sure that everyone has! I wanted there to be more action than I've written, but I needed to get it done and I'm happy with the ending anyway. Hope you like it!

* * *

"Can you maintain the lockdown on the science lab – keep Weir where she is?" Caldwell asked Rodney. 

"Nope," was the response. "The only way to do it is to override everything. Nobody's in control now. She is long gone."

XXX

Teyla turned to leave as soon as Caldwell had contacted her but John's voice stopped her. "Teyla! Come on – you can't leave me like this."

She walked back over to him starting to speak. "I will not –" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence though. Thalan had suddenly moved his legs, sweeping Teyla's feet out from under her. She fell to the floor, striking her head.

"Sorry about that." Thalan said to the unconscious woman. He then proceeded to left up her pants leg and grab the knife he knew she always kept there. As quickly as possible but still being careful not to cut himself, he cut the ropes that bound his hands. Grabbing Teyla's P-90, he jumped up and ran out the door.

XXX

As soon as Caldwell had given the order to Teyla, Phoebus ran to the computer and typed something in, only to have it beep at her. She slammed her hands down on the keyboard in frustration and turned around also taking her anger out on the screen that had previously shown John and Teyla.

She then ran out of the science lab with a determined look on her face. Racing through room after room and up a set of stairs she didn't slow down till she was close to John's position. Waving her hand in front of the control crystals, she walked through yet another bulkhead door.

"Looking for me?"

Phoebus spun, but before doing a full 180, something crashed into her and the next thing she knew she was on the floor. Her gun had fallen from her hands and Thalan picked it up, pointing it at her.

"Now who's got the look of defeat on their face, Phoebus?" His finger tightened around the trigger and he was about to pull it when the doors opened again. Major Lorne immediately stunned Thalan, not taking any chances, then stunned Phoebus.

He activated his radio. "Colonel Caldwell, we've got them both."

XXX

Elizabeth heard a knock on the door of her office and looked up to see John enter.

"Hey." She greeted him with a smile.

"Hey." He smiled slightly but it didn't reach his eyes. He stood uncomfortably just inside the door, when he would normally be sitting right on top of her desk. "I just came by to tell you that Beckett just released Ronon from the infirmary. He said that Ronon might feel sore for a little bit, but should make a full recovery. I thought you'd like to know."

Elizabeth sighed with relief. "Thank goodness there's no lasting damage. I would never have been able to live with myself otherwise."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." His voice became soft and for a moment he seemed distracted and lost in thought before he shook it off. "Well, I'm off to the gym. I've got a sparring session with Teyla."

She nodded and he left. Elizabeth stared after him for a long time. It had been almost a week since Phoebus and Thalan had taken control of them and John had been acting strangely ever since.

Sure, it had bothered her what had happened. The fact that she had so easily taken down Major Lorne's team, shot Ronon, and kept releasing a seemingly endless amount of bullets from the P-90. But she hadn't seriously hurt anyone and she knew that he wasn't really at fault. So she hadn't let the whole ordeal get to her. It seemed that John had though.

XXX

Elizabeth shut down her computer for the night, grabbed her mug of hot cocoa, and headed off for the mess hall in search of John. Many people had reported seeing him there every night and she was beginning to worry about him.

Sure enough, John was the only one in the cafeteria, sitting at a table with a mug in front of him. He was staring blankly out a nearby window, a faraway look on his face.

She walked to the table and he briefly looked at her before his attention returned to the window. She indicated the seat across from him. "Mind if I sit here?"

He simply nodded his head and didn't say anything.

Elizabeth sat down, a frown on her lips. She took a sip of her cocoa before placing the mug on the table. An uncomfortable silence fell between them for a few moments. She studied him for a moment. His lips formed a thin line, neither frowning nor smiling. His eyes had an almost haunted look to them and below his eyes were purple bags – it was obvious he had not been sleeping well.

She finally broke the silence with a single question, "John, are you alright?"

At first it seemed like he hadn't heard her. He didn't say anything or even move. Then he hesitated slightly, before apparently deciding to tell her the truth. "Just some things about what happened that are bothering me. Got me thinking."

"What things?" she asked gently.

Again it seemed as if he hadn't heard her but he finally responded turning his head to look at her. His eyes clouded and his voice very soft. "I rendered Teyla unconscious – twice. And I almost killed you, Elizabeth."

She could hear the anguish as he said it and wanted nothing more at that moment than to comfort him. "Teyla is perfectly fine now. And you didn't kill me, John. Even if you had, it wouldn't have been your fault."

John's right hand cupped the mug while the other balled into a fist. She reached over and placed one of her hands over his left.

"Elizabeth, it was my body that knocked you on the ground and had the gun pointed at you. If Lorne hadn't come in when he did . . ."

"You had no control over it. Do you blame me for shooting Ronon?"

"Of course not."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Because you weren't yourself."

"Exactly. No one blames you for anything. So please stop beating yourself up over it, John. Ok?"

He glanced down at their hands and uncurled his fist, lacing his fingers through her. "Ok." He promised and gave her hand a squeeze. She squeezed back and went to pull back but he didn't let go. She smiled slightly at that.

Then she remembered something that had been bothering _her _a little. "Can I ask you something?" she spoke hesitantly.

"Sure."

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "When Thalan told Teyla that you care for her more than she knows, was that true?"

John looked at her wondering why the hell she wanted to know. She carefully avoided his eyes, afraid of what she might hear.

"No." he said. "I care for her like a sister – nothing more."

Elizabeth tried not to look too relieved or happy, but John could read her expressions well and she failed.

"How come you look so happy about that?" It was asked in a teasing voice but when Elizabeth finally got the courage to look at him, his eyes had something else in them. They were serious and somewhat . . . hopeful, she realized with surprise.

"Maybe because I am." Her voice held the same teasing quality but her eyes were also serious.

"And why is that?"

Their eyes locked and she couldn't immediately say anything. "Because I care about you John."

"Good." He smiled at her. "Because I care about you, too. And I want a chance to kiss you for real."


End file.
